I've "lost" a few publications in the past, mostly to venues that disappeared before my story could see the light (Grim Graffiti, Our Shadows Speak II, Arkham Tales*). Grim Graffiti vanished without a trace, the editor of OSS II dropped a note on his blog, and Arkham Tales is back.
Last summer, I blogged about an acceptance, and the magazine's TOC is now listed at their website. Behold: my name is not on the list.
So am I angry? Yeah, a little. With myself, too.
This is why you sign a contract, folks. I guess I assumed the line "This one is a yes from us. Payment would be £10. How does that sound?" meant they would print my story. I guess I was wrong. (At least no one's proven I'm not...I queried the mag two weeks ago and they have yet to respond).
So I'm bummed. But smarter. I don't expect every little FTL mag to have contracts. I don't feel so bad about losing a FTL publication.
But this particular magazine (I don't want to be a sour-puss and toss their name around, get it?) is cool. I was stoked. Now I'm just sour.
Where'd I leave that sugar...
*And the resurrected Arkham Tales accepted a story yesterday, more later. So, whoot!
15 comments:
I have the opposite problem. Someone accepts my story, publishes it and then disappears a few months later. You think I'm jinx?
Congrats on the acceptance!
Huzzah on Arkham Tales! Sorry about the other TOC : ( Maybe they forgot to list come of the authors?
That's awfully lame, sorry to hear about it. That kind of thing drives me crazy. (And as my dad would say, it's not a long drive.) :/ Glad you got an acceptance to balance the scales!
Bah and woot!
I was just having contract drama the other day. Where did I stash the darn thing? What rights do they/I have? This is a great reminder that I need to organize myself. I'm sorry it happened to you, Aaron, but I learned a lesson from it. Your teacher is showing! :D
-Mercedes
Andrea - No, not a jinx. They print your work and realize they can't possibly top it. ;)
Natalie - Yeah, I hoped as much. The silence on the email front speaks of a different outcome, I'm afraid.
Katey - It's not a long drive for any of us. ;)
Michael - Thanks... and Thanks!
Mercedes - Darn, and I try to keep it covered.
Congrats on Arkham! I was thrilled to see them back. The interceding tentacle of H.P made it happen. ; )
you would think you would be able to throw them the acceptance email back at them at the very least. Woot on Arkam! that is good news at least.
Thanks, Becca. Gotta love that H.P.
Jamie - I did (forward the acceptance email with my query). Nada. *le sigh*
Congrats on the Arkham Tales acceptance and :( on the non-publication. Their loss.
i had no clue Arkham Tales had been resurrected! Now to see if they want to re-accept my story...
Congrats on Arkham. In relation to the other - I would have thought the same thing, going by what they said.
Cate - Thanks. And thanks.
Barry - They are looking at old acceptances...give it a shot. (mine was a different story)
Danielle - We may have a few spelling/grammatical differences, but we're all using English, right? ;)
Kudos on Arkham Tales. And a good cautionary tale to boot.
Not that it in any way lessens your aggravation (nor should it), imagine how I felt when the publisher, who agreed to publish not only two new Our Shadows Speak anthos but also reprint the original, self-published antho, fell off the face of the Earth without a trace. I don't even know if the man's still on this side of the dirt, or if he just called it quits, and I unknowingly jerked around upwards of thirty authors for over a year.
Just wanted to tell the other side. This is a tangled freaking web sometimes.
Lincoln "OSS Editor" Crisler
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